The process that preceded the moving of the large second storey house at 9833 Willow St. on March 4 began two months earlier.
On Jan. 3, the preliminary work began when the Haz Force (asbestos removers) arrived at the property in protective clothing. It took a week for the three-man crew to complete this labourious task in the contained area of the second storey and attic. By Jan. 14, it was now ready for Belton Bros. Structural Movers to start the long process of gutting the first storey and garage of the house.
Two days later, the crew of Curtis Kirwan, Tristan Mutch and Shamag Joseph started on the exterior with cutting the stucco which was the initial separation of the bottom level from the top level of the house. It took until Jan. 30 for the bottom level to be completely separated from the top level.
Now that the house was completely separated, the top second storey was supported on steel beams and wooden blocks under the beam. Later, hydraulic wheels would be attached to these steel beams so the house could be rolled off the property. But before this could happen, the windows and walls between the windows on the first storey had to be removed. Then came the snow storm that delayed work for two weeks.
Belton Bros. returned, even though there was still a considerable amount of frozen snow by the house on Feb. 20 to remove the carport.
The Belton crew of Mark Park, Kirwan and James Woodend under the supervision of Cory Belton knew there was still a lot more work before the house was ready to go. They now hired Marty’s heavy equipment company to remove and crush the concrete stairs and to dig a deep incline at the rear of the house so the hydraulic wheels could be attached to the steel frame on Feb. 28. The house was then ready to roll and that’s the whole story.
Belton Bros. did a tremendous job and formed a wonderful camaraderie with each other and neighbours during the past two months.
Jon Lefebure and Marlene Hayes are turning their property into seven charming cottages to be known as Cottages on Willow. The excavation will start once the development permit and building permit processes are completed around mid-April.